Escaping Gravity
by Akiko Natsuko
Summary: It was the night before the finals against Shiratorizawa, and although the possibility of defeat still lay in front of them Hinata had never flown higher. They were going to win, they were going to go nationals, and he was going to fly as high as the Little Giant. Gravity had other ideas.
1. Chapter 1

Hinata blinked as they left the changing rooms, making sure to close up behind them, neither willing to risk being benched for something like that. It was later than he'd thought, and it was already pitch-black outside, although thankfully it was clear out, the stars bright above them. It was chilly, especially after the exertion of running around the gym and he shivered a little, shrinking back into his jacket. At least he would warm up by cycling he thought, although he wrinkled his nose at the thought of cycling back in the dark. It wouldn't be the first time he'd done it, and the road was quiet enough, there was just something a little bit eerie about cycling there in the dark, perhaps because the world seemed to end at the railings that framed the curving road, everything blending to shadows just a short distance beyond them.

Shaking his head, he glanced at Kageyama out of the corner of his eye. If he was honest, he had been a little bit surprised when the taller teen had agreed to practice with him, having expected the setter to be one of those who was a stickler for resting before a match. Then again Kageyama had been right there, the two of them facing Oikawa together, so maybe it made sense that he had been just as exhilarated and wound up as Hinata. That and he was as volleyball mad as Hinata, although he tended to be more intense than expressive about it. Still, he was glad, a smile on his lips as he glanced away as dark eyes slid towards him. It had settled the nerves he hadn't been willing to show earlier and reminded him that together they were strong.

With Kageyama, he could fly, possibly even higher than a great eagle…

"I wonder how the Little Giant felt the day before the finals…" Hinata asked, suddenly needing to break the silence as they stepped up to the edge and looked out across the town. It was quiet, the only sound Kageyama's steady breathing, and that seemed to make the moment more intense somehow, and he shivered again as he admitted softly. "I'm super nervous, but…" _I have you, and the team and I can fight on my own too now,_ he thought, but he wasn't going to say that as there was no need to bring up that old fear, or the fight that had stemmed from it. That was in the past, and now the future was stretching out in front of them, vast and terrifying and… "Isn't it even more exciting now?" He asked, eyes bright as he turned to look at Kageyama.

The smile that met his words made Kageyama look younger and less terrifying than usual, and Hinata couldn't help but grin, especially as the setter held out his fist to him.

"We're going to win tomorrow." There was no doubt in Kageyama's expression or voice, and Hinata knew that he was right, practically vibrating with the certainty of it as he reached out and bumped his fist against Kageyama's.

"Yeah."

_Tomorrow, we're going to fly even higher._

They'd walked part of the way together, not speaking until it was time to say goodbye, but the quiet had been comfortable. There had been no need for more words, they both knew what was coming, and that they were going to win. _As long as I'm here, you're invincible,_ what had been a wild, spur of the moment agreement had become something more.

"I'll see you in the morning," Hinata chirped as he clambered onto his bike, already turning it away when Kageyama replied.

"Take care, dumbass."

Hinata stuck his tongue out at the setter, before taking off, lifting an arm in the air and waving until he swerved slightly and he had to grab the handlebar, pretending not to hear Kageyama's shouting at him to be more careful.

Cycling was similar to flying, and despite his brief trepidation about cycling in the dark, he lost himself in the rhythm of it. It was still chilly, especially as he picked up speed, the breeze cutting into his cheeks and bare legs, but it was exhilarating more than anything else. The burn in his legs as he reached the base of the hill, and started the familiar climb was like the burn after a long match – worse today after the intensity of their games – but welcome. That burn meant that he was moving forward, that he was growing stronger.

That he could fly.

He tilted his head up to the sky. Out here on the hill away from all the lights of the town, the stars were even brighter, stretching out never-ending above him. How often had he stood at his bedroom window staring up at those same stars over the years, wishing, praying that one day he would get to play Volleyball properly? That he would find a team? That he would get to fly, and see that vision from the top even though he was short, and had minimal experience? There had been other nights. Longer, darker nights when he had cursed those same stars, feeling lonely and small, and as though his dreams were further away than ever. The worst had been the night after he'd lost to Kageyama in middle school when it seemed as though he would never get to reach his dream.

Tonight, it seemed to him as though the stars shone brighter, as though they were celebrating his victory along with him, and he laughed, elated by the fact that he could stand tall over them and know that his dream was within reach.

"SEE!" He shouted up at them, letting himself be as loud as possible. He was still vibrating with the same energy that had gripped him during his conversation with Kageyama, and he knew that his parents wouldn't appreciate having to deal with it. Although he doubted that even that would be able to keep him quiet when he got home because while he'd texted them about their victory, he wanted to tell them. To scream and shout it to the world. Still, he knew that Natsu would either be in bed or nearly there, and he knew better to completely forget that, and so he tilted his head back further and shouted at the top of his lungs. "I'M GETTING THERE!" Out here, he could be as loud as he liked, there was no one to hear him but the creatures in the trees.

"WE'RE GOING TO WIN!"

"WE'RE GOING TO GO TO NATIONALS!"

"I'M GOING TO FLY HIGHER THAN THE LIT - ."

He didn't know what it was, whether his wheel had caught a rock or a gap in the road, or if something had darted from the bushes. All he knew that he was swerving to the side, the railing looming ahead of him, and the darkness beyond it reaching for him.

It felt like that moment he had in the air when time seemed to stretch on forever even though it was over in a matter of seconds, and he could see everything. This time there was no block to get past, no point to chase. There was just the realisation that he couldn't stop this, even as he slammed on the brakes in a last desperate attempt to stop the inevitable, but it was just as hopeless as the first time he had faced off against the Great King. The impact when it came was as shocking as it had been expected, jerking him forward and then he was in the air.

Hinata loved being able to fly.

That moment when the ground faded away beneath him, and his height and strength no longer mattered, because he could fly higher than anyone else.

This wasn't flying.

The air wasn't his friend, and there was no one there to raise him up. He was alone, caught for a terrifying moment in mid-air, and a void far deeper and more dangerous than the one the wall of the net had offered him when he had been alone.

And then he was falling, or maybe he had been falling all along, and his mind was only just catching up to the fact.

There was a roaring in his ears, and he wasn't sure if it was him screaming, the wind his ears, or the sound of that dark void rushing up to meet him. Not that it mattered. It didn't change the fact that he was falling, open space opening up beneath him, and shapes looming up out of the darkness. The first impact was a shock, and he felt skin break as he ripped through branches. It hurt, but the pain cut through the white noise as the reality of what was happening settled in, shock giving way to panicked terror and he flung his arms out. Blindly searching for something, anything that would at least slow if not stop his fall.

_Please._

His fingers caught leaves, and twigs, but nothing that could give him purchase.

The second impact spun him around, driving a strangled cry out as he felt something in his left arm break and shift. After that, he lost all sense of direction, head reeling from the sensation of falling and the sickening burn spreading up his arm. _I won't be able to spike,_ it was ridiculous how that thought managed to cut through everything else, a moment of calm in the chaos.

The third impact drove the air out of his lungs, and something else broke…

The fourth, sent him earthwards, but there was no relief in being grounded, as mud and scree gave way beneath him and he continued to move, rolling downhill in a tangle of flailing limbs, broken branches and shifting rock.

His entire body was ablaze now, each hurt blending into one until he didn't know where it started or ended. He could taste blood, or at least that was what he thought it was as his cheek rattled off a sharp rock, a pain echoed by a dozen others across his body, bright fireworks of hurt against the general agony.

The fifth impact was the last, as a dark shape loomed out of the darkness. He saw it coming, as sharp and inevitable as he had seen where to hit hat last spike today…or had that been yesterday… he had no idea any more, he just knew that he could stop the inevitable, not this time. All he could do was close his eyes and fling up his one good arm in a last attempt to protect himself as he slammed into the tree at full speed.

He had no idea if the collision had done more damage, everything spiralling into one as he struck it and then rebounded, his head rattling off the ground with a deafening crack. He knew it must've hurt, but he was beyond processing it as his body finally rolled to a halt, the world continuing to fall away from him, and as the darkness rushed in to embrace him, tears pricked the corners of his eyes.

_I just wanted to fly…_

Above him the stars shone on in the never-ending sky, silence taking the woods once more, broken only by his ragged breathing. Minutes later, or maybe a lifetime, nestled in the roots of a nearby tree where it had landed, Hinata's phone lit up with a soft chime that went unheard by its unconscious owner as a new message flashed up on the now cracked screen.

_Good luck for the finals Shoyou – Kenma._


	2. Chapter 2

_The quiet of the woods was once again broken the sound of a phone going off. This was no single chime of a message, but an incessant ringing, deafening in the otherwise quiet night. The cracked screen lighting up as 'Home' flashed across it. It rang and rang and rang, and then fell silent. _

Tanaka groaned as he leant back in his chair, rubbing his stomach. He'd eaten far too much, but after the day they'd had he'd been starving, and Saeko still excitedly babbling about their matches and victory had kept piling the food up in front of him.

"Ryuu…"

"No more," he pleaded, realising that she was halfway to putting more rice in his bowl, grinning as she pouted at him. "Unless you want me rolling onto the court tomorrow." There was a pause as his sister considered his words, and then she was yanking the bowl away with a shriek, and he couldn't help it, tilting his head back and roaring with laughter. The pressure of the day, the long sets against Aoba Johsei and the fear of failing again, all fading away.

_We won._

He didn't complain when she herded him off to bed shortly afterwards, both knowing that he was too wired to sleep just yet, but she surprised him by resting a hand on his shoulder just before he left the room, making him turn to look at her. "Good luck for tomorrow."

"Thanks."

"And make sure you win," she added a moment later, and he rolled his eyes even as he saluted before escaping before she could say anything else.

In the safety of his own room, he leant against the door. _As if it is that easy,_ he thought, grin dimming a little as he glanced at the file he'd dumped on the desk. A chiming caught his attention, and he dove for his phone as it flashed, Nishinoya's name flashing across the screen.

_**Are you ready for tomorrow?**_

_Was he? _If he was honest, he still wasn't sure that it had sunk in. They'd seen the posters declaring their place in the final, had watched it on TV and spent ages going over the files that Yachi and Kiyoko had collected for them, and it still didn't feel real. Finals. They were going to the finals, something that had seemed too distant before, so unattainable was now not only within their reach, but happening. He took a breath, before punching in his reply, the grin creeping back onto his face as he sent the message.

_No. But when has that stopped us? _

_Hinata's mother frowned as the call rang out without being picked up, and glanced out the window again in the hopes of seeing him rounding the corner on his bike, but there was nothing. She hadn't thought much of it when he was a little bit late, because she knew that he would have stayed behind to practice even if they were supposed to be resting for the match. He had always been like that, pushing that little bit further. It had driven her up the wall when he was little and just finding his feet because it seemed as though he was determined to fly away from them before he was ready, but now that had become his strength._

_However, as the minutes had ticked by she had started to grow a little worried. It was getting late, and it was dark out and even though he knew the route back like the back of his hand, she still worried about him. And Natsu had been nagging her, wanting to see her brother before she went to sleep, excited about his matches even if she didn't fully understand how important they were to him, or what tomorrow was going to mean. She could hear her daughter grumbling in the other room, already dressed for bed, but stubbornly fighting her father's attempts to get her to her bedroom. 'I want to see nii-chan!" and her frown deepened as she redialed his number, pressing the phone against her ear with a little more urgency this time._

_Pick up, Shouyou…_

Suga paused as he realised that he'd written the wrong answer for the third time in a row, staring at the sheet for a long moment before slowly closing his book. Being a Third Year meant being responsible, especially when they'd been reminded that they had to start looking to the future, and that meant doing homework even when all he wanted to do was go over the plans for tomorrow or sleep. Especially, as they were supposed to set a good example for the younger ones, but just for tonight he couldn't do it, still vibrating from the fact that they had actually won, and with a sigh, he set it aside and leaned back in his chair.

_We won. _He wondered whether it had fully sunk in for any of the team yet, possibly the first years he mused, thinking about their words and reactions during the meeting. He knew that it hadn't sunk in for him just yet and considering the way Asahi had kept pausing in the middle of reading the file or speaking, he doubted the Ace had fully accepted it yet either. Daichi was harder to read because he was focused on keeping everyone and everything grounded, but then Suga remembered how the Captain had reacted to the fact that everyone had remained behind to congratulate them at school and smiled.

Maybe it will have sunk in by morning.

His smile faded as he glanced down at his hands. Today had been hard, but tomorrow was going to be harder still, and he needed to make sure that he still had a place on the court.

That he would still get to fight.

_The phone rang again in the quiet night, ringing and ringing until it rang itself out._

_Then it rang again, on and on until it fell silent._

_There was a pause between the fourth and fifth time, brief but it felt like a lifetime against the quiet night, the world waiting with bated breath as it rang and rang and rang… bloodied fingers twitching against the leaves just as it rang off this time, a low moan of agony breaking the silence that followed,._

_**No. But when has that stopped us?**_

Nishinoya grinned at Ryuu's reply, before rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling. _When has that stopped us? _For a moment he remembered the storage cupboard, the anger that had bubbled up and the despair, the deafening sound of the broom snapping. But that was behind them. Today had more than proved that and tomorrow…

He licked his lips. He knew that it was going to be an easy fight, that his usual best wasn't going to cut him, and he was excited. It was something new. Something difficult. But, when had that stopped them? That was what the training camps had been from start to finish, the long weeks of training, and learning new things. Tomorrow was just another step.

It just happened to be a hundred times more important and more difficult.

"Bring it on," he muttered, before rolling over again and reaching for his phone. It was time to make sure that their weak-willed Ace didn't start panicking about what was coming.

_Worry was a strange thing. It could go from that needling thought at the back of your mind, to a raging storm that clouded your thoughts in the space of a second. She had been concerned at the start, and a little irritated that Shouyou hadn't let her know that he was going to be this late, and then wasn't answering his phone._

_After the second try, the irritation had receded._

_The third and fourth calls, saw her pacing back and forth across the kitchen floor and calling for her husband, as the needling worry began to blossom into more. Answer the phone. Answer the phone, she willed her wayward son… but no, it rang out again and again, and she had never hated the sound of ringing as much as she did right then._

_The fifth time saw her worry shifting into panic as it rang out once more without an answer._

"Why not?"

Tsukishima scowled at the wheedling tone, wondering what on earth had possessed him not to escape to his room after his brother's far too excited arrival. He should have known that Akiteru would want to talk about the fact that Karasuno had made it to finals, but somehow he hadn't expected his brother to inform him that he wanted to come and watch. He would never have asked and remembering how Akiteru had looked in the crowd that day, unable to do anything but watch and cheer them on from the outside, he would have thought that it was the last thing his brother would want to do.

"Because I said so…" He muttered, but that wasn't the real reason, just as the memory of that fateful match wasn't the only thing making him hesitate, and he glanced down. _Because I don't want you to watch if we lose. _If…not when. At least in the safety of his own thoughts, he wanted to believe that they could somehow pull off a miracle tomorrow, that he could block Ushijima. But he couldn't admit it aloud, and he didn't want to risk his brother being there, in case he failed, and he rose abruptly as he saw the protests building in Akiteru's face. "I'm going to bed."

"….Kei."

Somehow, he had a feeling that his brother wasn't going to listen to him, and he clicked his tongue in annoyance and kept moving. In the safety of his own room, he let his shoulders sink for a moment as he sighed. It was exhausting actually caring about something, and he almost wished that he could go back to how he had been.

_Almost. _

He lifted his hand, trying to ignore the mental image of a smirking Kuroo that filled his mind as he stared down at his fingers before slowly curling his hand into a fist.

_I'm going to stop him, at least a few times…_

_Pain. Confusion…_

_Had he been hit by another ball? He could remember playing, flying, eyes locked on the ball. Had he screwed up? Was Kageyama going to be bad at him again? He couldn't feel the intimidating aura that usually followed a goof…_

_He couldn't feel…_

_It hurt._

_And somewhere, just beyond his reach, the phone rang again._

Asahi yawned as he stepped into his room, towelling his hair dry. He was exhausted, and yet he wasn't sure that he could sleep yet, a nervous energy coursing through him. _Finals. _It was strange, it still didn't feel entirely real, as though he was waiting for someone to call him and tell him it was a mistake, or to wake up and find that they still had to play Aoba Johsai again. Yet, at the same time, it was wonderfully, terrifyingly real, and he gulped as he stared at the file that Ukai had given them to read. It was a dream come true, and one that he hadn't thought he was going to see before he finished high school, and it might all be snatched away again the next day because Shiratowza was nothing like the teams they'd fought before, and…

His phone buzzed angrily on the desk, multiple chimes indicating a battery of messages, and even before he reached for it, he knew who it was going to be. Sure enough, his inbox was filled with messages from Nishinoya, and he shook his head, a wry grin on his lips as he opened worked his way through them.

_**We're going to win tomorrow.**_

_**Don't panic.**_

_**I'll be right behind you, guarding your back.**_

_**Make sure you call for the tosses.**_

_**Seriously, don't you dare chicken out.**_

The messages were scattered and demanding, yet strangely buoying at the same time, and some of the panic that he had been building up to eased away as he stared down at the phone. _I'm not the same as I was back then._ He didn't think any of them would be able to forget what had happened back then, or that for a time he had run away. But that didn't matter, they didn't need to forget. If anything, he needed to remember that feeling, because he didn't want to feel that again, which meant that he had to fight, to call for the tosses and make sure that he didn't lose ground to Hinata.

_We might not win, but we're not going down without a fight._

_I'm not going down without a fight._

_A flat tire, or may Shouyou had been too tired to cycle and was having to rest… it wouldn't be the first time, especially after a match or particularly exhausting practice, and oh how she wanted to believe that was the reason for his tardiness when her husband had offered them in the face of her growing panic. But she had seen the hesitation in his expression, the worry that he couldn't entirely hide as he offered to drive down and check the road in the hopes of finding Shouyou on his way home, and she found herself dialling her son's phone yet again._

_Please…_

_It rang out again, and as she lowered it with a noise that was part sigh and part rising sob there was an impact against her leg, and she glanced down to find Natsu hugging her fiercely. She was tired, her cheeks flushed with it, and she didn't know what was going on, but it was clear that she was picking up on the fact that something was wrong. Resting a hand on her daughter's head, tousling the wild, ginger hair that was so like Shouyou's, she forced a smile. "It's okay Natsu, he'll be home soon…" _

_So, why didn't she believe it herself? _

_There was no way she could just stand there waiting for her son to pick up, or for her husband to be proven right or wrong, and holding Natsu close, she thumbed through her phone for a number she'd never had need to call before. Holding her breath as she pressed it to her ear. _

"_Ukai Kenshin speaking…"_

Yamaguchi was sprawled on his bed, holding his volleyball up above his head. It was smoother than it had been, evidence of the long hours he'd spent practising, and yet he'd never felt less ready to step on the court, and he hated it. _We're going to the finals, and…_ He sighed. It was easier to think about what would come next, about nationals, and moving forward when he was surrounded by the others. On his own, he tended to start worrying and overthinking things, like he was right now. Groaning, he tossed the ball up and down lightly, envisioning the toss.

Just over the net…

Just to the right…

_There's no way that I can beat Ushiwaka. But... I'm planning on stopping at least a few of his spikes,_ Tsuki's words broke through his concentration, and he squawked as he dropped the ball on his face, even as a grin spread across his face. That was right, he didn't need to do everything, he just needed to do what he could and it would all add up.

_I just have to get one over the net…and then another…one step at a time._

_Even one point can make all the difference._

_The ringing had stopped, much to his relief as it had been like a drill working through his head, and yet now he was intensely aware of the quiet stretching around him. It pressed on him, an awareness tugging at the edge of his scattered thoughts._

_Where am I?_

_He remembered thinking it had been a spike to the face, or at least he thought it did. But that wasn't right. It was too quiet. It didn't smell of the gym. So where? _

_He blinked, opening eyes that he hadn't even been aware were shut and found himself staring up at…a tree? He blinked, and the shapes shifted, a blur of colour, more dark than anything and the moment of comprehension started to fade. _

_I don't…_

… _He didn't understand._

_Everything hurt, and he didn't know where he was, just that he wasn't supposed to be there. And his eyes were burning, stinging, something cold and wet on his cheeks. Was it raining? Was he outside? But, he had been in the gym, hadn't he…?_

Across town, Kageyama collapsed on to his back with a wide yawn. He was exhausted but in a good way. For all that he'd grumbled that Hinata had got them into trouble by asking him to practice after they were supposed to go home, he was glad they'd had. The meeting beforehand had been a sobering reminder of what they were going up against, although he hadn't disagreed with what Hinata had said when the shorter boy had stood up. Still, it was more reassuring to put it into practice on the court, to see for themselves that they were still on form, even exhausted and with the finals looming over then. The weirdo combo in top form.

_Tomorrow._

He lifted his hand into the air, just as he had when he'd held it out for Hinata to bump. He knew that they weren't guaranteed to win tomorrow, nothing was certain in volleyball, he'd learned that the hard way, even though there were still times when his mind insisted that it could be. If he was in top form if each cog turned perfectly… but he knew better now. He knew that you could fight as hard as you possibly could, be entirely in sync, and still lose. _But… _He closed his eyes, and unlike when he'd first started Karasuno, it wasn't the gaping emptiness behind him that he saw, but a flash of orange, almost too fast to follow.

_We're going to win tomorrow, and we'll show Ushijima just how high you can fly._

_Waiting was worse than the worry._

_Or maybe it was because some part of her had hoped that the Coach would know exactly where her son was, and he hadn't. Hearing the concern that had bled into his voice, had made it worse, and she'd had to fight the urge to fall apart on him. Now she was reduced to waiting, while he contacted the Captain and possibly the rest of the team, and for her husband to either find their son or come back empty-handed, and she hated it._

_She was trembling she realised as she settled on the couch, Natsu curled into her side, and her phone clutched in a white-knuckled grip. Please… She didn't even dare try Shouyou again at this point, in case she missed a vital call, and she found herself wrapping her arms tighter around her daughter._

_Please…_

Daichi was sat at the dining table, food half-forgotten as he paged through the file that the girls had made for them, trying to memorise as much of it as he possibly could. Tomorrow was their last chance. Not Karasuno's, but the Third Years' and that meant that they had to push themselves to the limit to seize hold of this opportunity. _We're going to win, _he had to believe that. They had to believe that. It was how they fought, pouring everything into each step, each attack, believing that it would get through, and they would need that more than ever tomorrow.

Biting back a yawn, knowing that he would need to turn in soon, he flicked back to the start for a final read-through, paying no attention to the phone ringing in the background or his mother going to answer it. If it was one of the others, they would just have texted him, and he couldn't think of anyone else who would need him tonight…

"Daichi! Your coach is on the phone…" He blinked, looking up to find his mother stood there with a question in her eyes as she held out the phone to him, but all Daichi could do was shrug his shoulders as he took it.

"Hello, what can….?" Ukai cut him off with an urgency that he had never heard from the man before, and his brows knit together as he listened, the determination and focus from a moment before, giving way to a sinking feeling of dread.

_What…?_

_Natsu had fallen asleep against her, and that was the only thing stopping her from pacing around the room, the panic having taking hold firmly now. Instead, she was trapped in her seat, one hand playing with Natsu's hair, and the other clutching the phone._

_Please. Please…_

_The ringing of the phone was deafening in the strained quiet._


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata drifted awake, unable to remember falling asleep in the first place. No, not sleep… there was something wrong with him. He hurt. He was reminded of that when he shifted, trying to move, and immediately abandoned the effort with a soft, broken whimper rising up. It hurt. _Why? Why did it hurt? _It wasn't the familiar aches and pains of a hard match, as this filled every inch of his body, and he didn't know why, forehead furrowing as he tried to work out what had happened.

The ball…?

… no, there hadn't been a ball…had there?

No, that was right, he was outside…outside…but where? He opened eyes that had slipped shut again and tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He didn't know where he was, unable to see anything but trees and a brief glimpse of the sky above. It was dark. Was it night-time? Or was there something wrong with his eyes? His head hurt, and he wasn't sure if that was because he was hurt…getting hit by balls always hurt his head, but not like this, and it hadn't been a ball this time, had it? Or was the throbbing that was taking root behind his eyes because of the confusing thoughts that were spinning around too fast for him to grasp hold of, let alone understand. He made to close his eyes against the onslaught, only to find that they had drifted shut again without him realising, and he knew that was probably a bad sign, although he couldn't think why.

_I don't understand what's going on…_

_The car headlights were illuminating the road ahead, showing clearly that there was no sign of his son as he leant forward, peering into the darkness, crawling along the road for fear of missing something. Despite the reassuring words that he had said to his wife before leaving to search for Shouyou, Mr Hinata was growing increasingly worried with each minute that passed without any sign of him. He'd hoped to find him walking along the edge of the road, pushing his bicycle with a flat tire of something, but he had made it nearly two-thirds of the way down the hill, the lights of the town visible below the trees now, without finding anything._

_Where are you, Shouyou?_

_He wasn't sure what he was going to do if he got to the bottom without finding him, unable to imagine Shouyou had just taken off on them. His son wasn't always the most sensible, but he knew better than that, and he frowned, knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel tighter and glanced down at his phone in the passenger seat, hoping to see a message or missed call from home, but there was nothing._

_In the end, he almost missed it, because it was just beyond the edge of where the light from the headlights fell, and he knew that if it hadn't been such a clear evening, he wouldn't have spotted the dull glint of something against the railing that lined the road, and he immediately hit the brakes. His heart in his mouth as he grabbed the phone, turning on the torch before stepping out of the car, leaving the lights on in case anyone else came up the road. "SHOUYOU!" He shouted, hoping to hear a reply, but there was silence and gathering his courage, he made his way towards what he'd spotted. _

_It was Shouyou's bike._

_There was no relief at finally finding some sign of his son because the bike's frame and the front wheel was buckled, and it had clearly collided with the railing at speed and had been left to slump against it. "SHOUYOU!" He shouted, doubting that his son would have left it behind as it was his pride and joy, a sigh of independence once they'd decided he was old enough to cycle to and from school alone. There was no reply, and he stepped closer, examining the bike more closely, before turning his attention to the trees and slope beyond the railing, lifting the phone high, the narrow beam of the torch a feeble defence against the shadows amongst the vegetation. "SHOUYOU CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" He shouted louder this time, hoping that he was somewhere near the road. Always stay where you can be found, they had taught him that, but there was no response and no flash of ginger hair in the light, and his heart sank further when he spied the trail of destruction leading down the hill._

_Shouyou…_

It was still relatively early, but Kageyama had been on the verge of falling asleep, the matches – especially the one against Aoba Johsai and Oikawa had drained him, and their hardest fight was still to come. He had just settled under the covers, biting back a yawn, when his phone rang. Grumbling under his breath, and promising that he was going to kick the dumbass' ass if Hinata was actually calling him at this point, he rolled over and fumbled for his phone, answering without looking at the screen. "What?"

"_Kageyama?" _

It wasn't Hinata, and he bolted upright in bed as he recognised the voice. _Why is he calling me? What did I do wrong? _He faltered at that thought, wondering why his mind had leapt straight to that thought before there was a cough on the other end of the line, and he swallowed.

"Captain?"

"_Is Hinata there with you?"_

"Hinata?" Kageyama echoed with a frown, not sure what to make of the strange note in Daichi's voice and wondering why on earth their Captain would think that they would still be together at this time of night. _Although if Hinata had his way, we would probably still be in the gym practising,_ he admitted to himself, deciding to ignore the fact that he would most likely be there with him. "No, he isn't, why?" What had the dumbass done now? He didn't think that Hinata would have done anything to jeopardise his part in the match tomorrow, as he was more hyped about facing Ushijima than any of them, but he knew better than anyone that sometimes there was no telling what the shorter boy would do.

"_Where do you see him last?"_

"On the way home," Kageyama replied, hesitating for a moment before admitting. "We stayed behind after the meeting to practice for a little while…" He paused, waiting to be scolded, but there was nothing from Daichi, so he continued cautiously. "When Kiyoko-san sent us home, we walked part of the way together before he had to turn off as he lives out of town." There was a sharp intake of breath at that, and something cold and unpleasant formed in the pit of his stomach. Why was Daichi asking about Hinata? And why was he calling him about it? All thoughts of sleep disappeared as he straightened even though the older boy couldn't see him, unconsciously falling back into his 'King' voice as Hinata would put it as he demanded. "What's going on?"

There was a long pause, as though Daichi wasn't sure whether to scold him for his tone or to answer his question, and the quiet did nothing to settle Kageyama's growing uneasiness, and he was about to repeat himself when the other boy spoke. _"Hopefully nothing." _That wasn't the answer or reassurance that Kageyama had been hoping for, but before he could say as much, Daichi had continued. _"I need to speak to the Coach; I'll call you back."_

"But…" The line went dead before he'd even had a chance to get the word out, and he lowered his phone, staring at it for a long moment. _What the hell was that about?_ He hesitated for a moment, before dialling Hinata's number, hoping that the other boy would answer it and prove that he was worrying necessarily and that the only thing was wrong that he'd pestered him. It rang out. _Maybe he's already asleep,_ he consoled himself, but the uneasy feeling hadn't faded in the slightest, and after a minute he sent a quick text to Hinata telling the other boy to message him or call him back once he got this, no matter how late it was.

He waited until the little tick appeared to show that it had been delivered, before flopping back onto the bed and scowling at the ceiling as he clutched his phone. All thoughts of going to sleep now were well and truly ruined as he knew that he wasn't going to be able to settle down until he got a reply either from Daichi, or preferably Hinata, and he sighed.

_Dumbass, what is going on?"_

_The hill wasn't at its steepest here, for which he was grateful as he slowly followed the trail through the trees. Moving cautiously after he'd nearly catapulted himself into the trunk of a tree after his shoe had caught a root, woefully unprepared for a trek but unwilling to waste more time. He methodically swept his torch over the surrounding bushes and trees, worried about missing anything as his shouts continued to go unanswered, and his diligence eventually paid off as he spied the piece of cloth – part of a black hoodie, like the one his son wore after practice hanging from a broken branch, and dry-mouthed he moved across to it, scanning the floor. His heart beating faster as the torch illuminated something that looked worryingly like blood on some of the leaves, fresh enough that it glistened in the light._

"_SHOUYOU!" He roared, fear lending him volume, straining to hear any kind of response but there was still nothing, and he swallowed thickly before speeding up as he followed the trail. Please… He was torn between hoping that he was on the right path and that this wasn't where Shouyou was, especially as he continued to shout silence. _

_Why isn't he answering?_

_A chiming noise caught his attention, and for a moment, he thought it was his own phone until he spied the faint glow amongst the leaves at the base of a tree. Stumbling and sliding, he rushed to it, scooping up the phone and staring at the cracked screen, before pressing the button and seeing the familiar, Karasuno background and over a dozen missed calls, mostly from their home number, along with half a dozen messages._

"_Shouyou…" He whispered._

Daichi sighed as he hung up on Kageyama. He hadn't missed the concern in the first year's voice once he'd realised that something was happening, not that he'd had much more that he could tell the younger boy, as his own conversation with Ukai had been brief.

"_Hello, what can…?"_

"_Sawamura," Ukai cut him off, sounding more urgent that Daichi had ever heard him sound before, even in the tensest moment of their matches and there was a swooping sensation in his stomach. What's going on? "Have you seen or heard anything from Hinata?"_

"_Hinata? No, not since we left the meeting. Why?" The younger boy had his number, they'd all made sure to exchange numbers just in case anything ever happened with the matches, but Hinata had never had to use it. He pulled out his phone anyway just to check that he hadn't missed anything, but there were no missed calls, and the only message that he hadn't read was some classmates about the project they were doing for history, which he reported to the coach who sighed. "Coach, what is going on?"_

"_Hinata's mother just rang me. Apparently, he hasn't made it home yet. Her husband is out looking for him right now, and she asked if I could contact the team to see if you'd heard anything."_

_Hinata was missing? Daichi felt as though he had been sucker-punched because he knew that as idiotic as the first year could be at times, he wouldn't risk missing out on the match tomorrow and he wouldn't worry people like that. "I've not heard anything, but I can call around?"_

"_Try Kageyama, I am going to call Takeda-Sensei and see if he knows anything," Ukai ordered, sounding even more stressed than before. "Try not to worry him too much, we don't know anything is wrong yet. He might just have been delayed or…" _

_Or…_

_The hesitation was what worried him, and he felt slightly numb as he promised to let the Coach know if he heard anything, barely aware of Ukai thanking him before hanging up in a rush. _

Daichi grimaced. He was tempted to ring around the rest of the team, but he knew that if Kageyama didn't know where Hinata was, then the others were unlikely to know much more, but he hesitated for a moment, remembering what the other boy had said about staying behind to practice. _I will have to scold them about that in the morning,_ he thought, deciding that it was easier to think that everything was okay and that he would get the chance, even as he scrolled through his contacts and found Kiyoko's number. He wasn't up for another evasive conversation, and he knew that she was too good at reading all of them, so he settled for sending her a brief text instead.

_**What time did Kageyama and Hinata leave the gym?**_

That wouldn't tell them much, but maybe it would help, and he was reluctant to call Ukai back without something, trusting that the Coach would have rung him again if Hinata had been found. _What the hell is going on?_ He wondered, finding himself unable to settle as he kept glancing at his phone, and starting to pace around the room, before looking at this phone once more, worrying at his lip before he found Hinata's number and rang it.

_Where…?_

Hinata blinked sluggishly as a strange noise broke the silence around him. It took him longer than it should have to recognise his own ringtone, and he winced, the sound cutting through his head and making it throb worse than ever. _Please stop,_ he thought, before his head kicked into gear and his eyes widened. Phone. If he had his phone, he could try and get help…_why did he need help again?_ As soon as the thought had occurred it started to slip away from him, and he'd nearly lost track of it, when he heard another sound, a voice raised in surprise before the painful ringing sound was cut off, and despite himself, he made a soft cry of dismay as though a lifeline had just been caught.

The silence was different for a moment before he heard movement, something large moving through the bushes and branches, and he tensed, fear flooding him, a quiet noise rising in the back of his throat. "Shouyou!" The shout startled him, and he jolted and immediately cried out as the sudden movement sent fresh pain lancing through every inch of his body, and his vision blurred, tears beginning to trickle down his cheeks. It hurts. It hurts. White noise flooded his ears, but through it all he heard a second shout, louder and closer this time. "SHOUYOU!"

_Shouyou…that was his name, wasn't it?_

Recognition tugged at him, although he couldn't place the voice right then, pain and fear clouding his thoughts to the point where he couldn't think, couldn't breathe. All he knew was that it promised safety.

"…here…." He tried to call, but all that came out was a pitiful broken whisper that he could barely hear above the rushing in his ears. It had hurt to speak, a burn that left him feeling nauseous and dizzy and he didn't dare try again, hoping that it had been enough.

_Please…_

_Please…what….?_

Branches cracked, and then there was a light on his face, and he whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut as it felt as though he had just looked directly into the sun. _It hurts. _His entire head was a throbbing mass, feeling as though it was ten times bigger than usual, and he kept his eyes shut, not daring to look again. _It hurts. _"Shouyou…" His name – it was his name, he was sure of that now – was whispered, and he sensed something, or someone settle next to him, and despite himself, he opened his eyes. The light had been moved, no longer shining directly on him, and casting the trees over him into sharp relief.

_Where am I?_

He had hoped that being able to see would quieten his confusion, but if anything, it made less sense. _I…don't understand. I… _ There was movement, and a face came into view above him. He couldn't make out all the details, his vision blurrier than before, but something tugged at the edge of his scattered thoughts as he saw the ginger hair so like his as gentle fingers brushed his face, the touch tentative as though they knew how much he was hurting. The voice softer than before, still painful to his throbbing head, but less so than before. "Shouyou, can you hear me?"

_I know that voice. It's…_

"D-D…ad?" It was so hard to speak, and it hurt. _Dad, I don't know what's going on, and it hurts. _There was a sound almost like a sob from his father, and he frowned – that didn't sound like his father, and he tried to lift his head to see what was going on, only to find himself being held down and gods that touch burned. Distantly he knew that it wasn't meant to hurt, but it did, and fresh tears rolled down his cheeks as he tried to pull away, a whimper rising as he wasn't allowed to escape.

"Don't move," his father ordered in a tone that was usually enough to get Hinata to do as asked without question, but he was confused and frightened, and there was a strange note in his father's voice that he didn't like, and he tried to move again. A strangled cry tearing itself free, as something shifted in his side, and the world vanished for a moment, narrowing down to that sensation and the pain it brought, as though a thousand needles were being dragged, slowly, painfully through his side and his breath caught. "Shouyou?!"

"I-I…" _I can't breathe, _he tried to say, but the words wouldn't come, and there was a strange whistling noise. _I can't breathe. I can't breathe. _ He was panicking now, and he knew that was making it worse, trying to remember what the others had told him to do when he was panicking before a match, but his mind was empty of anything, but the fact that he couldn't breathe and that something was wrong. There was warmth in his mouth, copper against his tongue, and he tried to look for his father, trusting him to have the answers.

Fear.

Fear was the strange note he'd heard earlier he realised, seeing it in his father's eyes. He was talking to him, he realised belated, mouth moving in urgent motions, but Hinata couldn't hear the words above the pounding in his ears, and there were shadows in front of his eyes now untouched by the light illuminating the world around him. The world closing in on him, as everything narrowed to the strangling feeling in his chest.

What was happening to him?

Any awareness he'd had was fading, he couldn't remember where he was or what was happening to him, he just knew that he couldn't breathe, that there was pressure and pain building in his chest until it took over everything and that his father was there. That it must be his father's warm fingers that were wrapping around his left hand, a pinprick of heat in the chill that was consuming him, and he tried to squeeze back, to tell him that he was there, that he needed help…that he couldn't breathe…that he wanted his father to make it all better like he had when he was little.

_Daddy, please…_

…_help me…_


	4. Chapter 4

'_D-Daddy…"_

How many years had it been since he'd heard that name from his son's lips? Too many. Shouyou had always been fiercely independent, trying to run before he could walk, a baby bird that was determined to fly off into the horizon. It was something that had given them more than one grey hair over the years, even as they shared proud smiles where he couldn't see. Then there were some nights when he put Natsu to bed, and she would curl her arms around his neck and press a sloppy kiss to his cheek with a 'goodnight Daddy' that he found himself missing the days when Shouyou had done the same. However, right now, he would have done anything to be back home, Shouyou waving of his warning to be careful as he left for school, bright-eyed and grinning with a 'See you tonight, Dad' on his lips, another step closer to flying away.

Anything other than that childish plea for comfort that he couldn't give right now, anything to drown out that last, breathless, pained plea before his son had gone terrifyingly still in front of him. Anything to drown out the echo of that single word that had replayed louder and louder through his frantic, desperate call to the emergency services. A conversation that he could barely remember, he knew there had been questions – too many - and he had snarled at them about that because this was his son, his baby.

_Daddy. _

He knew that they had told him to stay on the line, to keep talking to them, but he couldn't, because words couldn't fix this and he wasn't the one that needed their help, Shouyou was.

"Hurry," he had pleaded, never hearing their response over the echo of _'Daddy'_ as he knelt by Shouyou, shivering a little as he had settled his coat across his son, a tiny, desperate attempt to do something. A way to hide the damage that the light had shown, damage that the part of his mind that wasn't entirely lost to panic knew only scratched the surface. Blood, there had been so much blood…had he told them that? He thought that he had, but he wasn't sure, their questions and his answers already out of his mind, the entire world had narrowed down to his son.

To Shouyou who was quiet apart from struggling, whistling breaths that faltered far too often, and he found himself holding his breath each time, unable to take his next until his son had. Shouyou who was never still, often driving them up the wall with his relentless energy, who looked almost lifeless under the light of the phone torch.

"Shouyou!" He tried to elicit a response from his son, not daring to shake him, even as he wanted nothing more than to reach out and shake him by both shoulders and see him jerk awake as he did on the weekends when it was a nightmare to get Shouyou out of bed.

He wanted this to be a nightmare.

_Daddy._

A shudder wracked him, one that he was sure had nothing to do with the cold, or maybe it did, as everything felt cold and numb right now, everything fading apart from the sight of the ragged rise and fall of Shouyou's chest and the sound of his breathing. "You're going to be all right," he whispered or tried to, not sure if the words had come out or if they were trapped in his head, lips pressed to the hand cradled between his, as though if he pressed the words into his son's skin, it would make them more real. As though the warm of his breath, would stave off the chill that he could feel settling into Shouyou's skin, as his grip tightened, determined to anchor his son to the world until help arrived.

_Please, hurry…_

_Kageyama was exhausted, and he knew that he should be asleep with the game in the morning, but every time he closed his eyes, he heard Daichi's voice, that little hesitation that the older teen hadn't been able to hide__**. Hopefully nothing**__… He kept checking his phone every few minutes, hoping to see a response from Hinata, even as he tried to tell himself that it was probably nothing and the dumbass was probably home already and fast asleep._

_He had to be right?_

_So, why couldn't Kageyama settle? And why did he care so much? And he did care, he wasn't good with emotions, but he recognised the unpleasant weight in the pit of his stomach as worry. It was a feeling that only Hinata ever seemed to manage to elicit in him. Along with a lot of other emotions, he thought, remembering all the times he had wanted to throttle him, or been completely and utterly confused by their interactions, the smiles that been becoming more and more frequent. Growling under his breath and calling the other boy a dozen different names that he knew that he didn't really mean, he rolled over and rechecked his phone._

_Nothing._

_He was about to toss it across the room when he paused and pulled up his call log and stared at Daichi's number and then at the time. It was late, the older boy had probably turned in by now, but… He opened his messages and typed a quick 'have you heard anything?' and sent it before he could second guess himself, before closing the phone and setting it back on the bedside table before rolling onto his back with a noise that was half growl and half sigh._

_**Hinata, you dumbass… **_

…_**you better be okay…**_

Until this moment, Mr Hinata would have been hard-pressed to choose what was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. His wife's voice, trembling a little with happiness and tears as they exchanged their vows, a childhood romance made complete. That loud, demanding cry from Shouyou the day he had been born, letting them and the entire world know that he was there. The quiet, less confident cry as Natsu had entered the world, and Shouyou's much louder exclamation of excitement when he'd heard it from inside the room. Right now, as he listened to the sound of sirens approaching, he decided that there was no more beautiful sound in the world. "They're nearly here," he told his son, hoping that the promise of help, the reassurance that he was going to be okay would draw some reaction from his son. It didn't, and his breath caught and stuttered as he realised that Shouyou's was hitching again, hitching and pausing, and he held his breath…

…the next one didn't come.

Terror replaced the fear that had gripped him, panic clawing at him. _Daddy. _ He wasn't aware of the fact that he was shouting, screaming for help, that there was a voice coming through his phone or that Shouyou's phone was ringing yet again. He didn't register the sound of vehicles at the top of the hill, the sirens cutting off, and light – red and blue – breaking through the treelines, or the sound of voices calling his name, Shouyou's name. Because none of it mattered, because Shouyou wasn't breathing, his chest still, and he was patting his cheek, hating the idea that he might be hurting him further as he caught cuts and bruises with frantic fingers. "Shouyou! Shouyou!"

There were hands on his shoulders, pulling him away, and he fought them. Some primal part of him rising to the front as he fought tooth and nail to get back to his son. _Daddy!_ Didn't they understand that he had to fix this, that he had to do something, that Shouyou…that his son…

"Sir, you need to let us help him…"

Help. It was the promise of help that jolted him back to the present, slumping abruptly against the hands that were holding him back, pulling him away. "Help…" He blinked, briefly registering the man who was talking to him, the uniform standing out in the light and it was bright – too bright for torchlight – and he blinked again, the scene finally coming into focus. There were multiple torches, and it cast a strange, ghastly light over the scene as he took in the paramedics surrounding Shouyou, blocking his son from view as they worked with an urgency that made his heart skip a beat.

_Daddy…_

"Help him…" he pleaded, raw and ragged. A man on the edge. _Save him,_ he wanted to scream, but the words wouldn't come, as though admitting that Shouyou needing saving would make this more real and as the image of his son's too still chest and pale skin flashed through his mind he squeezed his eyes shut. _Save him._

"We will," the Paramedic who was talking to him said, and Mr Hinata had no idea if that was too his original plea or to the words that he didn't think he had spoken aloud. He didn't really care, trying to seize hold of the calm reassurance in that voice, even as he heard the flurry of worried voices around his son, the sound of a defibrillator being readied and applied… the pause and another burst of urgent words.

_Daddy…._

There was a hand on his shoulder again, trying to draw him back and he opened his eyes, just in time to see Shouyou jerk as he was shocked and his breath caught on a sob and a denial and a plea all at once, choking him, tears building in his eyes. "Sir? Sir?" He couldn't tear his gaze away from Shouyou and the frantic efforts to save him, refusing to admit that they were trying to bring him back, that it might be too late. "…Sir?" He made a noise, realising that there was something else he had missed, still unable to look away and thankfully the man seemed to realise, fingers tightening on his shoulder in understanding, a grounding force. "I asked if there was anyone you need us to contact for you?" Gentle, as though he was the one that needed help, as though he was on the edge of a precipice that he couldn't come back for, and he choked on his son's name. _Shouyou…save Shouyou…_ but now he was focusing, he could hear Shouyou's phone ringing, and another thought bubbled up.

"I…My wife…" He blinked and looked at the man. "She…" _She's waiting for me to bring him home, she's waiting for me to call and say our son is okay,_ he thought, feeling sick to the stomach, wondering how all those words could sound eerily like that echoing plea of '_Daddy'_, and he had to swallow a dozen times before he could continue. "She's at home with our youngest, I…" Helplessly, he held out the phone he was still gripping, had been gripping all along, marks left in his palm. Letting the man take it, eyes returning to Shouyou just as the Paramedic's settled a mask over his son's face. "Is he…?" He jerked forward, and this time he was allowed to move closer, even as he couldn't finish the question, terrified of the answer.

Terrified of what he might be about to see.

_Daddy…_

"He's back with us for now…" It took a moment for the words to break through the haze over his mind, the Paramedics continuing to work, and he blinked. _For now…_ That wasn't what he wanted to hear, he wanted to know that Shouyou was going to be all right, that he hadn't been too late, that he had got him help. He blinked, mouth opening and closing, eyes darting around, taking in the equipment scattered around his son, his coat piled off to the side, and his fingers twitched, aching to pull it back over Shouyou. _He's cold, he needs to be covered up,_ he wanted to say, as though protecting his son from that single thing could make up for everything else, but he couldn't move, because his eyes had slid back to Shouyou and in the harsh light of the added torches there was no hiding from the damage.

There didn't seem like there was a single part of his son that wasn't bloodied and bruised. As though he had hit everything in his path on his way down the hill. A flight cut short. The Paramedics were immobilising his limbs, and he jerked forward, instinctively wanting to tear away the restraints that looked so out of place against his ever-moving son, but he stopped himself, breath catching. "Shouyou…"

_Shouyou, please keep fighting…_

_Hinata wasn't answering, and Kiyoko had replied, and her answer had done little to settle the growing concern that was gnawing at him because even if he'd had a flat tire or something, Hinata should have been home by now. Daichi had tried calling Hinata a dozen times since and then tried to get hold of Ukai, but the Coach's phone had been engaged – were they still looking for him? _

_He'd left a message, not that he'd had much to say – we don't know where he is, he should be home by now…what is going on?_

_Daichi couldn't settle, pacing back and forth across the room. Part of him wanted to ring around the rest of the team, to tell Suga what was going on just so he wasn't alone with his worry. At the same time, he didn't want them to worry._

_His phone chimed and all he but dove for it, praying that it would be a message telling him that Hinata was home and safe and that he didn't need to worry any more. Although he would have words with Hinata for worrying them all in the morning, especially on tonight of all nights. _

_It was Kageyama._

'_Have you heard anything?' Simple and to the point, but Daichi could practically see the Setter's scowl as he'd typed that, the worry he would be trying to hide. His finger hesitated over the reply button, because what could he say that wouldn't add to Kageyama's concern? He was about to give in and admit that he hadn't heard anything when his phone rang, Ukai's name flashing across the screen, and rather than relief, he felt his stomach drop as he fumbled with the answer button._

"…_hello?"_

_ Natsu had fallen asleep against her, and that was the only thing stopping her from pacing around the room, the panic having taking hold firmly now. Instead, she was trapped in her seat, one hand playing with Natsu's hair, and the other clutching the phone._

_Please. Please…_

_ The ringing of the phone was deafening in the strained quiet,__and she almost dropped it in her hurry to get to answer it, hope pounding in her chest as she realised that it was Hiroto. "Have you found him?" She asked without greeting as she pressed it to her ear, hugging Natsu close as her daughter stirred with a sleepy grumble. Unaware of her grip tightening as she registered the unfamiliar voice or the way the blood drained from her voice as she listened to the man on the other end of the phone. Shouyou had been found. He was hurt… her mind shut down as he tried to briefly outline the injuries they were looking at.__She felt as though she was swaying, caught in a current threatening to drag her under and there were tears on her cheeks, Natsu the only thing stopping her falling to pieces entirely, as this stranger broke her heart with each word that he was saying. __Shouyou…_

_"I…No, I understand…" She didn't understand, because this couldn't be happening. She'd been worried, scared, almost out her mind with it. But not once had she allowed herself to truly think about what could have happened, especially this, not this…. She squeezed her eyes shut, taking a shuddering breath as she tried to blink away the tears, tried to focus on what she could do out here when all she wanted right then was to be at her son's side. "I…can I talk to my husband?" There was a pause on the other end, and a flurry of voices and she strained to hear, hoping against hope to hear her son's voice amongst them, even though she knew she wouldn't. __Shouyou…_

_"…Risa?"_

_"Shouyou...?" She whispered, whatever she'd been hoping to hear from him disappearing in that instant because she had never once heard her husband sound like that. So fragile, so broken, and there was a pressure in her chest. A sob, a howl, a plea that wanted to bubble up, and she swallowed it back. "…is he?"_

_"They've got him for now, they're getting ready to move him. I…" She could hear the hesitation, the desperation in his voice. __What has happened to my baby boy?__ The Paramedic had explained it to her, but the words were blurred, the details too much to register right now. She needed to see him with her own eyes, to hold him, to smooth his hair back until he swatted at her hands and told her that he was too old to be fussed over like that. __Shouyou…__ She swallowed, looking down at Natsu, heart twisting anew at the thought of explaining to her daughter what was happening, and her grip tightened on the phone. "Go with him, I… we'll get a taxi…" She knew that if she had asked he would have come back for her, but the thought of Shouyou being alone… her baby boy hated being alone, and she sniffled, losing the battle against her tears and letting them fall. "Hiroto…"_

_"I know,"__ he whispered, soft and shaky, with an understanding that had been built over the years, and it gave her hope, just a flicker that they could get through this. __"We'll be waiting for you…I love you."__ It was a promise, that he wouldn't leave Shouyou alone, that he would do everything he could to make sure that their son was okay, and she sobbed as she hung up on him, unable to return the words because deep down she knew it was a promise he couldn't make._

_That it was the first time, he had made her a promise he might not be able to keep._

_Shouyou…_

_ She gave herself a couple of minutes, unable to stop the tears, the sobs that were bubbling up. __Oh Shouyou…__ her heart ached, her mind conjuring up what it must've been like for him alone out there in the dark, hurting, scared, until Hiroto had found him. Shouyou who had needed glow in the dark stars across the ceiling for years before he could sleep through without a nightlight, her bright, summer child who hated being alone. _

_"…mummy…" Her sobbing had disturbed Natsu who was pushing herself up, rubbing sleepily at her eyes, and Risa took a deep breath and dashed a hand across her eyes. _

_"We need to get up," she said, forcing a smile, and she knew that she wasn't as successful as she wanted to be because Natsu was staring up at her. Half-asleep and confused, eyes crinkling at the corners as though she was about to cry. "Can you go and get your coat and shoes on?" Risa asked, managing to find the balance of soothing and commanding that could bend both her children to her will, waiting for Natsu to nod and stumble away, still more asleep than awake before snatching up the phone again._

_ First, she called a taxi, voice trembling again as she begged them to hurry, not for the first time cursing the fact that they lived out of town, but never so vehemently as she did right then. Then she was moving, heading for Shouyou's room, her mind a whirl. What would he need? She knew that they would have time to come back for more, but this was all she could do help, all that she had until she was at his side and able to hold his hand and hug him, and make sure that he knew that they were there. _

_That he knew she was there. _

_ Stepping into her son's room shattered her composure again because it was there waiting for him to come in, half-completed homework scattered over his desk despite their best attempts to get him to organise it. The bed half-made, the pile of soft toys that apparently he wasn't too old for scattered along the back of the bed, with several on the floor, flung there while he tossed and turned, as restless in his sleep as he was awake. Laundry basket piled high, clothes falling out of his wardrobe where he'd probably been digging for something. The walls covered in Volleyball posters, and her breath caught on a sob and a curse all at once as she caught sight of the Karasuno poster, her son caught in mid-flight._

_Shouyou…_

_ She had carried the phone with her, just in case, there was news, a talisman against it. Now she hastily, searched for Ukai's number, knowing that there were others worried about her son. As it rang, she found one of Shoyou's rucksacks, sniffling as she evicted a volleyball worn raw by all the hours of practice he had put in and placing it on the bed, as one-handed she started to stuff clothes inside more to do something than with any kind of plan. It seemed to ring forever, but then Ukai picked up, and the urgency and hope in his voice gave her pause, and she knew that he had to be able to hear the tears in her voice as she told him._

_"They've found him…"_

_ Daichi was blank-faced as he listened to Ukai's explanation of what had happened. He had finally stopped pacing, sinking down on the edge of his bed as his trembling legs had threatened to give out on him. This can't be happening. This is a nightmare, a bad joke. But he knew that their Coach wouldn't joke about this the night before their big game, and that stirred something in his thoughts, but he couldn't focus on the game, on Volleyball, when Hinata…when Hinata was… _

_"Is he going to be okay?" He demanded, interrupting Ukai for the first time that he could remember, unable to keep the fear out of his voice. This couldn't be happening, not to Hinata, not when only a few hours ago the first year had been loud and brash, bouncing around on a swell of excitement and victory. Undaunted by what they were about to face, and he knew that he wasn't the only one who had drawn comfort from Hinata's enthusiasm._

_"I don't know, his mother didn't have any more details for me, and she was on her way to meet them at the hospital," Ukai replied, with a gentleness that he hadn't heard from the man before. Part of him appreciated the honesty, another part of him had wanted a lie, to be told that everything was going to be okay. "Sawamura, for now, I want you to keep this between us. Once we know more, hopefully by morning we can let the others know what is happening. But…"_

_"I understand…" He did, at least on one level, even as part of him rebelled at the thought. The entire team cared about each other, about Hinata, even Tsukishima even though he would probably deny it until his last breath, and it felt wrong to hide this from them. "But…I… Kageyama was asking if I'd heard anything, what do I say to him…?" That wasn't something he could avoid, because he knew that the Setter would stubbornly stay awake until he heard back, and that wouldn't do any of them any good._

_Although how were they supposed to play tomorrow…?_

_ A pause, a sigh, and then Ukai replied. "Tell him that Hinata has been found and is with his parents, and we'll tell him more tomorrow." Not quite a lie, but not really close enough to the truth and Daichi would have argued, had he not recognised the exhausted worry in Ukai's voice, realising that the older man was worried about Hinata, the team, and the upcoming match._

_"Okay…"_

_ There wasn't much to say after that, and they hung up quickly, and for several minutes all Daichi could do was stare at his phone, as though waiting for Ukai to call back and say it was all a joke, a misunderstanding. The phone remained silent, and Daichi squeezed his eyes shut, feeling sick to his stomach. Hinata… After a few minutes of just breathing, trying not to let his imagination run away with him and failing, he opened his eyes. Opening the message from Kageyama, dutifully typing what Ukai had told him, feeling raw inside as he sent the message and tossed his phone aside before burying his head in his hands._

_Hinata._


End file.
